LakePharma, Inc., the leading US-based biologics company specializing in antibody and protein engineering, cell line development and protein production, launched its LakePharma MicroBiomanufacturing Center in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Located at 35 South Street, the newly-acquired 69,000-square foot building includes laboratory, office space and infrastructure for GMP manufacturing. LakePharma intends to develop the site to perform GMP biologics manufacturing for Phase 1 clinical trials.

The increased capacity at the site will also support growth in LakePharma's assay development, bioanalytical, process development and QC services. The company plans to add approximately 100 positions at the Center by 2020.

"The new facility is ideal for LakePharma as it provides the ability to offer fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) capabilities," said Hua Tu, LakePharma's CEO. "Hopkinton is in close proximity to Cambridge/Boston, where we have a large cluster of clients, and we believe that this facility will increase our ability to serve their product development and manufacturing needs. We will soon be able to provide our clients and partners with the end-to-end services they demand."

The LakePharma MicroBiomanufacturing Center joins the LakePharma Vector Center in Worcester, Masschusetts, the LakePharma Development Center in Hayward, California, and the LakePharma Antibody Centers in South San Francisco, and Belmont, California.The company will retain existing lab operations at the LakePharma Vector Center, located on the Worcester Polytech Institute campus, where it plans to double the size of its molecular biology and cell culture operations this year.